Essence of Being

Product Notes

Dev is one of the finest guitarists to come out of Australia\' ... Tommy Emmanuel "With his uncompromising invention and arrangements, Dev is advancing the boundaries of music" ... Dick Scott, Daily Telegraph "With consummate control of his Eastern and Western influences, Gopalasamy takes the listener from the intricately arranged tonal cool of the seven-minute \'For All That You Did\' and \'The Essence of Being\' to the more fiery \'Trance\' and \'Steps\' where he amps up the guitar attack with playful influences, to the lovely and joyful \'Fusion of Roots\' and \'Shahn\' in which he draws strength from his Indian roots with bhangara tablas and sitar drones. Each track never fails to draw you into the speakers." ... Review of the current CD by Billboard Magazine - the world\'s leading music magazine (US-based) (Review by Christie Eliezer) "Dazzling technical virtuosity on the guitar...creative explorations ... sensitive performances" ... Review of \'Tazzad\' release by the UK-based international music magazine fROOTS (London) - 2 ARIA nominations - 2 MO Award nominations - APRA award for Composition - The \'Tazzad\' release is on the National Heritage List and stored in the Australian National Heritage Library - 4 University degrees (including a Masters degree) Composed, arranged and/or performed music for feature films, TV, jingles, documentaries, professional theatre and CD recordings. - Has peformed with the cream of Australian Jazz, and with various visiting international artists including support for the legendary Dizzy Gillespie. Note from the Artist/Composer: The purpose of each piece was to capture a particular emotion and mood ... and to create a vehicle for guitar improvisations that focused on melody and mood, rather than intellectual note choices,clichéd lines and the display of technique for the sake of it. All but two of these compositions were written in the last year. I set a time-limit of 2 hours for each melody to be completed so that ideas flowed. Many of the melodies were initially improvised and then written down with modifications. Some melodies were sung into my Blackberry whilst driving and emailed back to me to be transcribed. Arranging the pieces of course took longer. Most of the pieces were recorded with little rehearsal, and often on the day the musicians were given the charts. It is a credit to the musicians that the pieces feel so comfortable and sound so rehearsed. Hope you enjoy this CD as much as we enjoyed making it. My eternal gratitude to all the musicians involved for their friendship, generosity and amazing musicianship. About the pieces: 1. For All That You Did A tribute to my father who passed away last year. Life does not prepare you for death. 2. Trance The discipline and meditative energy of a rhythm section playing a groove. The screaming guitar tells it's story over this pulsating landscape. 3. Less I Know The Older I Get.... Note on the Improvised Guitar Solo section: Play only if you feel you need to. Do not intellectualise note choices. Feel every note! 4. Horseradish and Garlic Happiness was the joy of finding a cure for hay-fever. Alas, the cure was temporary. I should re-name this piece Claratyne. 5. Fusion of Roots My Indian origins 6. Paquito's Swamp An Indian-Latin-Jazz-Rock piece. Dedicated to PaquitoD'Rivera, one of my favourite alto saxophonists. 7. The Essence of Being To Love and Be Loved.....and Music. 8. Steps It all starts with the first step, and all is achievable with little steps. This melody is revealed in steps. 9. Hurtful Conversations A sad human failing ... and I am shamefully as guilty as anyone else. 10. Shahn The Joy of Children. Dedicated to my four children. Written on the day of the birth of our son, Shahn ....after a long period without sleep.

Dev is one of the finest guitarists to come out of Australia\' ... Tommy Emmanuel "With his uncompromising invention and arrangements, Dev is advancing the boundaries of music" ... Dick Scott, Daily Telegraph "With consummate control of his Eastern and Western influences, Gopalasamy takes the listener from the intricately arranged tonal cool of the seven-minute \'For All That You Did\' and \'The Essence of Being\' to the more fiery \'Trance\' and \'Steps\' where he amps up the guitar attack with playful influences, to the lovely and joyful \'Fusion of Roots\' and \'Shahn\' in which he draws strength from his Indian roots with bhangara tablas and sitar drones. Each track never fails to draw you into the speakers." ... Review of the current CD by Billboard Magazine - the world\'s leading music magazine (US-based) (Review by Christie Eliezer) "Dazzling technical virtuosity on the guitar...creative explorations ... sensitive performances" ... Review of \'Tazzad\' release by the UK-based international music magazine fROOTS (London) - 2 ARIA nominations - 2 MO Award nominations - APRA award for Composition - The \'Tazzad\' release is on the National Heritage List and stored in the Australian National Heritage Library - 4 University degrees (including a Masters degree) Composed, arranged and/or performed music for feature films, TV, jingles, documentaries, professional theatre and CD recordings. - Has peformed with the cream of Australian Jazz, and with various visiting international artists including support for the legendary Dizzy Gillespie. Note from the Artist/Composer: The purpose of each piece was to capture a particular emotion and mood ... and to create a vehicle for guitar improvisations that focused on melody and mood, rather than intellectual note choices,clichéd lines and the display of technique for the sake of it. All but two of these compositions were written in the last year. I set a time-limit of 2 hours for each melody to be completed so that ideas flowed. Many of the melodies were initially improvised and then written down with modifications. Some melodies were sung into my Blackberry whilst driving and emailed back to me to be transcribed. Arranging the pieces of course took longer. Most of the pieces were recorded with little rehearsal, and often on the day the musicians were given the charts. It is a credit to the musicians that the pieces feel so comfortable and sound so rehearsed. Hope you enjoy this CD as much as we enjoyed making it. My eternal gratitude to all the musicians involved for their friendship, generosity and amazing musicianship. About the pieces: 1. For All That You Did A tribute to my father who passed away last year. Life does not prepare you for death. 2. Trance The discipline and meditative energy of a rhythm section playing a groove. The screaming guitar tells it's story over this pulsating landscape. 3. Less I Know The Older I Get.... Note on the Improvised Guitar Solo section: Play only if you feel you need to. Do not intellectualise note choices. Feel every note! 4. Horseradish and Garlic Happiness was the joy of finding a cure for hay-fever. Alas, the cure was temporary. I should re-name this piece Claratyne. 5. Fusion of Roots My Indian origins 6. Paquito's Swamp An Indian-Latin-Jazz-Rock piece. Dedicated to PaquitoD'Rivera, one of my favourite alto saxophonists. 7. The Essence of Being To Love and Be Loved.....and Music. 8. Steps It all starts with the first step, and all is achievable with little steps. This melody is revealed in steps. 9. Hurtful Conversations A sad human failing ... and I am shamefully as guilty as anyone else. 10. Shahn The Joy of Children. Dedicated to my four children. Written on the day of the birth of our son, Shahn ....after a long period without sleep.